Appendix 2. Some History Lessons

Appendix 2. Some History Lessons

Some history of land ownership
The Feudal system of the Normans, probably taken over from the Anglo-Saxons meant that the King held all the land; he granted occupation of some to tenants-in-chief, who then granted it to their supporters etc. Everyone bar the king was a tenant of someone else. The unit was the Manor, but the land in it was not necessarily in the parish.( The Manor of Papcastle had land at Ireby.) The Lord of the Manor let out strips of land in return for service, either as military obligation, work on the lords land or rent; (the land retained by the Lord was the demesne.)
Major changes started to happen with the Dissolution of the Monasteries, (started 1524) with lots of land being sold off to raise money for the king. Earlier tenants had found ways to escape their feudal obligations by setting up trusts; the trustees did not have possession so could not deliver their service obligations. Consequently the Lord of the Manor and especially the Crown were big losers.
So the Statute of Uses in 1536 gave the beneficiaries of a trust the legal estate and they were then liable for the service obligations. Bargain and sale became the means to transfer uses from one party to another. Also in 1536, the Statute of Enrolment required each bargain and sale to be enrolled at Quarter Sessions.
During the 17th century, lawyers again devised ways of getting round this, and there are frequently paired lease and release arrangements. A lease usually for one year at a peppercorn rent was drawn up the recipient was not in possession of the property (just allowed to use it) so there was no need to enrol. Then the following day a Release for a sum of money was done, removing the original lease and vesting freehold interest in the purchase.
The Land Registry was started in 1862, compulsory from 1897 but taking until about 1970 to apply throughout the country. There were no less than six Acts about property passed in 1925 one resulted in no need to keep deeds, which either went to the owners, perhaps the County Records Office or just dumped. The other significant change was that which now allowed married women to own property in their own right (previously it all became their husbands when they married.)

Some history of state-sponsored education in England
[from Wikipedia]

The period before 1950
From medieval times, the Church (or chapel) provided education to all classes of society, in monasteries, at public schools, orphanages, charity schools, grammar schools, church foundations, or by the chaplains to private households. Until as late as the nineteenth century, all university fellows and many schoolmasters were expected or required to be in holy orders. Schoolmistresses typically taught “the three Rs” (reading, writing and ‘rithmatic) in dame schools, charity schools, or informal village schools. The Church of England resisted early attempts for the state to provide secular education, and church schools still remained embedded in the state school system.
In August 1833, the UK parliament voted sums of money each year for the construction of schools for poor children, the first time the state had become involved with education in England and Wales, whereas the programme of universal education in Scotland.
A meeting in Manchester in 1837, chaired by Mark Philips, led to the creation of the Lancashire Public Schools’ Association. The association proposed that non-sectarian schools should be funded from local taxes.
In 1839 government grants for the construction and maintenance of schools were switched to voluntary bodies, and became conditional on a satisfactory inspection.
In 1840 the Grammar Schools Act expanded the Grammar School curriculum from classical studies to include science and literature.
Before 1870, education was largely a private affair, with wealthy parents sending their children to fee-paying schools, and others using whatever local teaching was made available.
The Forster Elementary Education Act 1870 required partially state funded board schools to be set up to provide primary (elementary) education in areas where existing provision was inadequate. Board schools were managed by elected school boards. The schools remained fee-paying. The previous government grant scheme established in 1833 ended on December 31, 1870.
Under the Elementary Education Act 1880, education became compulsory from the ages of 5 to 10.
The Free Education Act 1891 provided for the state payment of school fees up to ten shillings per week.
The Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act 1893 raised the school leaving age to 11 and later to 13. The Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act of the same year extended compulsory education to blind and deaf children, and made provision for the creation of special schools.
The Voluntary Schools Act 1897 provided grants to public elementary schools not funded by school boards (typically Church schools).
From April 1900 higher elementary schools were recognised, providing education from the age of 10 to 15.
The ‘Balfour’ Education Act 1902 created local education authorities (LEAs), who took over responsibility for board schools from the school boards. Grammar schools also became funded by the LEA. The act was of particular significance as it allowed for all schools, including denominational schools, to be funded through rates (local taxation).
The Fisher Education Act 1918 made secondary education compulsory up to age 14 and gave responsibility for secondary schools to the state. Under the Act, many higher elementary schools and endowed grammar school sought to become state funded central schools or secondary schools. However, most children attended primary (elementary) school up until age 14, rather than going to a separate school for secondary education.
After the passing of the 1929 Local Government Act, Poor Law schools became state funded elementary schools,.
The Butler Education Act of 1944 established the Tripartite System, and defined the modern split between Primary and Secondary education at age 11.
Education was made compulsory up to age 15 in 1947.
The post-war period
Due to the perceived failures of the Tripartite system, the Labour government in 1965 requested proposals from all the UK’s regions for them to move from the Tripartite system to the Comprehensive System. Note that this was an optional reform for the regions, and some regions still have the Tripartite System.
In 1972, education was made compulsory up to age 16. A generation of “ROSLA” (Raising Of the School Leaving Age) children caused significant problems for teachers